Is it possible for a normal child from a normal school to get a bursary for a top flight private school?

[Hisnutsroastingonanopenfire]

Idly wondering while reading the thoughts on what schools the royal children will attend and I looked at the schools mentioned, their entrance policies, scholarship and bursary schemes. It's not possible, is it, for a state school educated child to make the leap from what they learn at school to being able to pass those exams. Why don't state schools educate their brightest pupils to these standards? Or coach their sporty pupils to this level? Or support performing arts?

Education is failing our children because of poor funding and we seem to be pulling for a race to the bottom which widens the gap into a complete canyon. What's the answer?

The answer is to put loads more money into State schools (which will not be raised by VAT on Private school fees) and also into lifting more families out of poverty so they are able to parent adequately - this will mean teachers can teach rather than have to act as Social Workers and/or de facto parents.
That way ALL children will have access to a decent education

My DC are at Private Schools as our State Alternative was not acceptable to us.

Yes, it is. There are specific entrance exams and sometimes specific scholarships for children following a state secondary school route of entry into Year 9. Probably not easy though.

Curious why you’ve put this in AIBU. Are you specifically hoping for inflammatory responses from people with zero experience of independent schools or bursaries?

If you think carefully about it you’ll realise that bursaries are intended for children who would not otherwise be able to attend a school. Ergo …

(I don’t dispute your second paragraph - but it’s a different matter to the assumption in your first paragraph.)

Yes it's possible but would require extra input from a parent or tutor to get to the level required for a selective school entrance exam. My friend's daughter got a full bursary to St Pauls Girls but did a lot of preparation for the exam.

I've put it here because it's a good subject for Mumsnet. I've read through several schools bursary policies this evening and they're all much the same and there are a number of topics I would be very surprised if they were taught at a state school in time to sit those exams.

Try Stowe School. You want the Stephenson Scholarship. It's specifically for state school pupils - English, Maths and Science.

But the vast majority of parents (or adults in general) have never seen the contents of an independent school website or prospectus. So they have no information on which to base an informed discussion.

The recurring response on a general board to any bursary question is Why are you looking at an independent school if you can’t afford it?

My state school daughter got a scholarship to a top private school that I could never afford. No extra tuition or prep. Just aced the exams and interview. Totally holding her own academically. It can be done.

So why aren't state schools bringing it up to parents that little Sophie or Jayden are exceptional children so why don't they consider x y and z schools?

That's great news!

The purpose of the bursaries is to allow the very brightest children to attend the schools - and keep the results high.

There’s no incentive for the schools to take a ‘normal’ child.

I do know of children from modest backgrounds that have gotten significant bursaries - but they are academically brilliant.

Extremely normal where I live for children to do state primary and private secondary - the parents use tutors etc to prepare them for exams. I’m not sure why a state school would bother preparing all the children for exams to access selective private secondaries when 95% of pupils won’t take that route.

Not an efficient use of resources is it.

If you mean Marlborough it is 100% possible for a state school educated child to meet the entrance requirements of Marlborough. It's not massively selective, by which I mean an ISEB score of around 120 would suffice (100 being national average).

It absolutely was possible before Labour added VAT to school fees. DC’s private school offered about 15-20 full fee, 6th form scholarships specifically for children at our local, (not brilliant), state schools. The entry requirements were tailored for children coming from these schools who hadn’t had the same opportunities. They’re not offering as many this year.

@Hisnutsroastingonanopenfire they likely are . A colleague of my husbands child was more or less headhunted from his state primary and the senior school that wanted him then paid for his 2 yrs at a feeder prep before he moved to the senior school .

My friend's boy from a very deprived area got into the local private school with a bursary based also on the Dad's job. He is incredibly bright, the local state school did a great job.

It does happen (having worked in admissions for these schools I know that it does).

however it is motivated parents that achieve this for their bright kids very (as in vanishingly small) numbers do it without tutoring. State schools as a rule do not help or encourage (occasional exceptions apply where a primary school is in partnership with the independent).

Neighbour of ours reckons her two kids got full scholarships to a well known London school. Went from age 3 to 18.

kids aren’t academic, came out with grades not even good enough for RG. That’s with private school and tutoring the school made them get as they weren’t keeping up. One did the school plays and enjoyed drama but nothing you’d make a career out of.

i don’t believe it tbh. I’ve had a look at the website for my own kids but as they didn’t give out 100% scholarships I didn’t apply.

Yes.

It is possible.

Various schools have full bursaries.

Eton for example has the Rokos scholarship and the Orwell awards.

www.etoncollege.com/admissions/scholarships-and-awards/

They are for genuinely outstanding students though.

Do you have young children that you are hoping to get into one of these schools and groom to be a future royal consort?!

Yes, it is possible. A chap I know locally, his son has just got a full scholarship to one of the most prestigious schools in the country. He has been purely state educated, passed the entrance exams, but the parents couldn't afford it until the school offered a fully funded place.

There are no top flight private schools anywhere near us so why would the state schools waste their time teaching for entry exams?

Bright kids can and do excel at state schools.

I've seen several tv shows about just this, ordinary kids trying and succeeding at public school entrance. The child does need to be bright or specifically talented though.

No!!! It would be my idea of hell mixing in those circles. I'm bored and full of cheese.

I know a DC got two 110% bursary offers to two different private schools, from a state primary. Bright boy, some online tutoring and a very switched-on mum.

Yes, DS did but I chose the local grammar as I wanted them at the same school. He has done very very well academically and would have anywhere.

Yes, quite a few people get tutoring and take the entrance tests. Bear in mind if it's a public school it might only have a year 9 entry. In Cambridge we have a minor public school and they have a 2 form entry at year 7 with the main cohort arriving at yr 9.

But, what many parents seeking a good academic school want is not necessarily a public school. In Cambridge we have The Perse. Top flight private school, main cohort arrive in Yr7 at the senior school. Many have not been to a private school before. You probably would want to get tutoring but it's not essential